China Deepens Anti-Corruption Drive With Execution of Former Finance Executive

Authorities in China have executed Bai Tianhui, former general director of the state-backed financial firm China Huarong International, after he was found guilty of accepting bribes amounting to roughly 156 million dollars. His death sentence, handed down in 2024, was carried out following the rejection of his final appeal earlier this year.

Photo: flickr.com by HarshLight, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Prison cell

A Successor to an Earlier Huarong Scandal

Bai Tianhui is the second senior figure from the company to face the death penalty. His predecessor, Lai Xiaomin, was executed in 2021 for taking or extorting bribes worth more than 253 million dollars. Both cases became emblematic of China's intensified crackdown on corruption within the financial system.

The Charges and the Court's Decision

According to investigators, between 2014 and 2018 Bai Tianhui helped other individuals acquire corporate projects and secure financing. In exchange he received money and valuables totaling 1.108 billion yuan — approximately 156 million dollars. The court sentenced him to death, stripped him of political rights, and ordered the confiscation of all personal assets.

Despite cooperating with investigators and providing information that aided other corruption cases, Bai Tianhui lost his appeal in February 2025.

State Media Reaction

China's Central Television stated that the bribes were "exceptionally large” and that the "social consequences were exceptionally harmful, causing major losses to the interests of the state and the people.”

The network emphasized that the execution forms part of a broader campaign targeting misconduct in the financial sector.

China's Expanding Anti-Corruption Drive

China's large-scale anti-corruption campaign intensified after Xi Jinping assumed leadership in 2012. Over the past decade numerous officials have been removed from their posts or given lengthy prison terms, including life sentences.

In 2022 Xi Jinping described corruption as a malignant tumor threatening the vitality and combat readiness of the ruling party. He stressed that as long as the conditions for bribery persist, the fight against it must continue without pause and under a policy of zero tolerance.